Guitarist and singer Jack White has been busy on a number of other projects - including his Third Man record label and recording albums with the his other bands The Dead Weather and The Raconteurs - since the band, completed by Meg White, went on semi-hiatus in 2007, but said the duo are ready to record again.

Jack told Vanity Fair magazine: "We thought we'd do a lot of things that we'd never done: a full tour of Canada, a documentary, coffee-table book, live album, a boxed set. It was one long project that took almost three years.

"Now that we've gotten a lot of that out of our system, Meg and I can get back in the studio and start fresh."

The White Stripes originally had to cancel a string of live dates in 2007 after drummer Meg started suffering problems with anxiety, but Jack hinted earlier this year she was ready to for them to head back to the studio to record a seventh album.

He said in April: "I would like to play again soon. I don't think Meg's anxiety exists any more, but I don't know. She was there when we were rehearsing for The Dead Weather.

"She's still involved and everything. But we've never sat down and gone: 'OK, so don't forget to block out three months."